Archive for the ‘salad’

In the ongoing informal series of foods from my childhood, today, I’m going to introduce you to Mujadarah.

Admittedly, this wasn’t my favorite dish growing up. I usually picked at it or ate it with lots of salad so I could get it down. But, as happens with most of us, my palate changed and discovered that I, even if I don’t love Mujadarah, I like it. It must have been the lentils.

The first record of mujadara dates back to 1226, in the Iraqi cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh by al-Baghdadi. It was known as “peasant food”. Mujaddara is the Arabic word for “pockmarked”; the lentils among the rice resemble pockmarks. Generally consisting of rice, lentils, sometimes burghul (#3 or #4 coarse grind), and, very occasionally, meat, it was served during celebrations. Without meat, it was a medieval Arab dish commonly consumed by the poor. Because of its importance in the diet, a saying in the Eastern Arab world is, “A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of mujaddara.”

Arab Christians traditionally eat mujaddara during Lent. The dish is also popular among Jewish communities of Middle Eastern origin, in particular those of Syrian and Egyptian backgrounds; it is sometimes nicknamed “Esau’s favourite”. Jews traditionally ate it twice a week: hot on Thursday evening, and cold on Sunday.

If the recipe looks somewhat familiar to you, I’ve made a dish similar before, Koshari. The biggest difference is that Koshari has chick peas and pasta and is generally served with a tomato-cumin sauce.

A few notes:

1. You can make this dish with white rice, brown rice, or burghul wheat. If you use burghul, be sure to use a #3 (medium coarse) or #4 (coarse) grind. If you use burghul, it will be the standard 2:1 ratio you would use for white rice.

2. You can use either brown or green lentils. Don’t use red. They cook too soft for this dish.

3. My mom uses just cinnamon as the spice (other than salt & pepper). Play with the spices and come up with a combination you like.

4. While some do make this dish with meat, I’ve always eaten it as a vegetarian meal. If you want to add meat, follow the meat cooking instructions for Kidra.

The ingredients

The lentils. Use brown or green.

From top left: cumin, allspice, olive oil, black pepper, salt

1 c. brown or green lentils

2 c. white or brown long-grain rice

2 lb. onions, cut in half and sliced thin

4 c. water or broth (5 c. if using brown rice)

2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. olive oil

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the rice and saute for 1 – 2 minutes.

Sauteing the rice. I used brown in this post.

Add the salt, pepper, allspice, and cumin. Cook until the spices begin to give off a fragrance, about 1 minute.

Adding the spices. As you cook, the oils in the spices will come out and flavor the oil and rice. Be sure to stir constantly so the spices don’t burn.

Add the water or broth, bring to a boil, cover the saucepan, and turn down the heat to low. Cook until the rice is done – 25 to 30 minutes for white, 45 to 50 minutes for brown.

2. Meanwhile, heat the 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally, until the onions are soft and begin to take on color.

Cooking the onions. When you get to this point, make sure you watch them closely. You want caramelization, not burning.

Once the onions begin to brown, watch them more closely and stir more often; you want the onions to brown, not burn. Cook them down as far as you like. (I prefer them to be fully caramelized.) Depending on how dark you want the onions, it could take anywhere between 20 – 30 minutes to cook them.

I like my onions well caramelized. This took about 30 minutes.

When the onions are done, take them off the heat and set aside.

3. About halfway through the rice cooking time, place the lentils in a medium saucepan, cover with water to at least 1″ above the lentils, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook the lentils, adding water as needed, until they are done, about 20 – 25 minutes.

Boiling the lentils. Be sure to keep them covered with water so they don’t dry out.

4. When the lentils and the rice are done, mix them together (I usually do this in the pot I cooked the rice in). Mix in the onions. Taste for seasoning.

5. Mujadarah is usually served with either yogurt or a tomato-cucumber salad (basically tabouleh without the bulghur wheat).

Panzanella is one of those dishes that simply screams summer. It is at its best when tomatoes are in season, and, especially, fresh from your own garden.

Panzanella (literally meaning “bread in a small basket) is a Tuscan recipe that, before the 20th Century, was based on onions, bread, olive oil, and basil. It wasn’t until the 20th Century that tomatoes were added; no doubt out of desperation and poverty.

The earliest known description of Panzanella is by the painter Angolo di Cosimo (“Bronzino”; 1503 – 1572). He sings the praises of onions with oil and vinegar served with toast and, a page later, speaks of a salad of onions, purslane, and cucumbers.

The best things about this recipe? It’s easy, fast, and there’s no cooking involved. More reasons it’s perfect for summer.

(some information from wikipedia.org)

A few notes:

1. This should go without saying, but use the best ingredients you can find and/or afford. Panzanella traditionally has few ingredients, so they all need to shine. There’s no way to mask indifferent ingredients in this recipe.

2. Use at least day-old bread. If your bread is too fresh, it will become gummy. Also, use a good European-style crusty bread. Most American-style breads don’t have the hard crust needed.

3. Some Panzanella recipes soak the bread in water and then squeeze it out before using. Others will have the bread soak in olive oil. I use the latter method. I prefer some bite to my bread; I find the water method makes the bread too soggy for my taste. However, if the bread you are using is very hard, then the water method may be the way to go. Be sure to slice the bread into thick slices and soak for about 20 minutes. Squeeze out the water before cutting or tearing the bread. (Perhaps even do half-and-half water and tomato juice.)

5. This salad is really best the day it’s made. You can eat it the next day (just let it come to room temperature after you take it out of the fridge), but the bread will be soggy. Unless that’s what you prefer.

The ingredients (the tomatoes I chose to use were small-to-medium sized, but they still added up to roughly 2 lbs.)

Ranch, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island. Three dressings that have been ubiquitous on the American Dinner Table for decades. Of course, being American, these dressings have been adapted to serve other purposes than just coating lettuce. They are used for dipping vegetables, marinating, as a sandwich ingredient, and for mitigating the heat of Buffalo Wings.

Each one of these has an origin story that shows off, even in some small way, American ingenuity, taste, and not a little desperation.

Ranch Dressing was created on the true-life Hidden Valley Ranch (a dude ranch) near Santa Barbara, CA. The originator, Steve Henson, was said to have come up with the original recipe while working as an electrical contractor in Alaska. When he and his wife opened their dude ranch in the early 1950’s, they served the dressing to guests and it became a hit. They began selling kits to guests to take home and make their own dressing (just add buttermilk). The Hensons managed to build a small empire on their dressing, eventually selling their company to Clorox in the early 1970’s (the company still owns the brand).

Thousand Island Dressing has a slightly more murky history. One story is that Oscar (Oscar of the Waldorf) Tschirky introduced the dressing to patrons of the Waldorf Hotel in New York via his boss, George Boldt, who was served the dressing while on a boat tour in the Thousand Islands in upstate New York. It was said the chef on board basically threw together a salad dressing with whatever he had on hand, and it became a hit. Another story, probably the more likely one, is that Sophia LaLonde, the wife of the fishing guide at the Herald House on the Thousand Islands, came up with the recipe in or around 1911 to serve at the hotel and shore dinners there. The Broadway actress May Irwin enjoyed the dressing so much she asked for the recipe. Mrs. LaLonde obliged, and Ms. Irwin took it back to New York and gave the recipe to Mr. Boldt so the kitchen could prepare it for her. Once the Waldorf began offering the dressing to its patrons, the dressing became popular throughout the country. The Holiday House Hotel in the Thousand Islands still sells the original recipe dressing at the hotel and online.

Blue Cheese Dressing has a very murky origin story. It has been suggested that it originated in France, but that’s highly unlikely. The French prefer lighter vinaigrette-style dressing on their salad; it’s doubtful that putting cheese in their salads would even occur to the French. Blue cheese has been in America since at least the Revolution where that well-noted Francophile, Thomas Jefferson, enjoyed it at his dinner table. The first recorded evidence of Blue Cheese Dressing as we’ve come to know it (Then known as Roquefort Dressing) was in Edgewater Hotel Salad Book in 1928. An earlier version of the dressing appears in the Fannie Farmer’s 1918 Cookbook. By the 1930’s the dressing had spread in popularity not only through Fannie Farmer, but also through Irma Rombauer’s ubiquitous book, The Joy of Cooking.

For the Blue Cheese: Omit the sour cream and cheese; substitute vegan mayonnaise and plain soy milk; use crumbled hard

tofu to get the texture of the cheese; add tahini and apple cider vinegar (start with just a small

amount and add to taste). If you have some nutritional yeast, you can also use that for additional cheesy flavor.

For the Thousand Island: Substitute the mayonnaise for vegan mayonnaise.

2. If you can find it (and it’s getting easier to), use “country style” buttermilk. The flavor and thickness make so much difference in the finished dressing.

3. If you must use dried herbs in the Ranch Dressing, use 1/2 the amount of the fresh in the recipe. The dressing will need to sit for an hour for the herbs to infuse their flavor.

4. For the Blue Cheese Dressing, I used Amish Blue. I have used gorgonzola, roquefort, and Stilton in the past. Extravagant, but delicious. You can use any type of blue cheese you like – as your cheese department and budget will allow.

5. For the Thousand Island, I usually add more than 1 teaspoon of horseradish depending on what I’ll use it for (i.e. Reubens). So, adjust according to your taste.

6. You can substitute low-fat yogurt for some or all of the sour cream. If you must.

7. All of these dressings will last up to a week. If they begin to separate, just give them a stir. The Blue Cheese Dressing, will, however, thin out considerably as it sits. Just add more mayonnaise and sour cream to thicken.

Now, I will say, these are my versions of these dressings (and, no doubt, many others have made these same adjustments). You can certainly add, subtract, and/or change ingredients. For example, the original Thousand Island Dressing uses finely chopped egg in the recipe; I don’t. The original Ranch Dressing is made with buttermilk only; I’ve added mayonnaise. I’ve added lemon juice to the Blue Cheese Dressing. I, like many, have also added bacon from time to time (it’s excellent on burgers when you feel like indulging).

Sometimes, I like to go all ’70’s and use an Iceberg wedge when I serve any of these dressings. A dear, late friend of mine, Chef Roger Mollett, used to say, “Iceberg is the polyester of lettuce”. He’s right, you know.

Fattoush is another one of those Middle Eastern salads can be as simple or as complex as you like. It is ubiquitous throughout the region, including Turkey. While it can contain different ingredients, the base is always stale toasted or fried bread.

1. While I have given some measurements here, there are no hard and fast rules other than the bread.

2. English (hothouse) or Persian cucumbers are preferable. They have less water, fewer seeds, and don’t need to be peeled. If you need to use the more familiar salad cucumber, then you will need to peel it (the skin is tough and usually waxed) and scoop out the seeds.

3. If you use large tomatoes, be sure to seed them. If you use cherry tomatoes, don’t bother with seeding. Just cut them in half.

4. Curly parsley is more traditional. However, flat leaf (Italian) is fine.

5. If you use garlic, use less than you think you need. Raw garlic is powerful stuff and can easily take over the rest of the salad.

6. You don’t need to cut the vegetables fine. They can simply be chopped.

1. Prepare the bread: If you are toasting the bread, preheat the oven to 450F. Split the loaves around the outside edge.

Splitting the bread. A serrated knife is especially helpful with this task.

Don’t worry if the loaves aren’t split cleanly. You’ll be breaking them up after they’ve been toasted.

The split loaves. if they’re not perfect, don’t worry. They’re going to get broken up anyway.

Place the split bread directly on the oven rack and let toast until it is a golden brown. Try not to let the bread get too dark or will add a bitter flavor to the finished salad. It should take about 2 – 3 minutes for the bread to toast.

The toasted bread. Once it’s cooled, break it up into bite-sized pieces.

Let the bread cool and then break it up into bite-sized pieces. I generally like to accomplish this by putting the bread into a large zip bag and breaking it up. No mess and the bag can be re-used.

If you decide to fry the bread, heat your oil to 375F. A mix of vegetable and olive oil works well for the flavor. (use pure olive oil, not extra virgin.) Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces and separate them. Fry the bread in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

2. Place all of the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Add the bread and toss. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss again. Taste for seasoning.

The vegetables ready for the bread and seasonings.

Let the salad sit for about 15 minutes, then serve.

Sahtein!

The salad will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator, but it’s really best the day it’s made.

The classic Caesar Salad can make a diner recall the days of martini lunches, 2-inch steaks, paneled dining rooms, and the Rat Pack. In short, it’s an American classic.

An American classic that originated in Tijuana, Mexico.

Legend has it that Caesar Cardini, a restauranteur in San Diego, invented the salad in 1924. He also operated a restaurant in Tijuana to circumvent Prohibition. According to his daughter, the Caesar Salad was invented out of sheer necessity when the kitchen supplies were depleted.

After a rush on the restaurant one July evening, Cardini made do with what he had, adding the dramatic flair of the tableside preparation by the chef. And thousands of tableside performances were born.

So, now you know. It has nothing to do with Julius Caesar (other than the fact that both he and Caesar Cardini were both Italian – technically). And, when my sisters and & I were kids, our dad try to convince us that it was invented by Caesar Romero. (You know, the Joker in the 1960’s “Batman” series.)

*******************

A few notes:

1. I (and many others) use anchovies in the dressing. The original recipe didn’t use them; the anchovy flavor came from Worchestershire sauce. If you would prefer to leave them out, go ahead.

2. To make this dressing vegetarian/vegan, omit the egg, anchovies, and Worchestershire Sauce and use vegan mayonnaise and vegetarian Worchestershire Sauce.

3. If you find the addition of all extra virgin olive oil too strong, you can cut it with half pure olive oil or an unflavored oil like vegetable or grapeseed.

4. Since this recipe does use raw egg yolks, it is best not to serve this to anyone who might have a compromised immune system. Healthy adults should be fine – especially if the eggs are fresh. However, if you are concerned about using raw eggs, substitute the mayonnaise.

5. Croutons are essential in this recipe. You can buy them, but they are easy to make. I’ve included instructions.

6. When you grate the cheese, don’t use a Microplane; the cheese will be too fine. Either do shavings of cheese with a vegetable peeler or a larger grater.

7. The most common proteins served with Caesar Salad are grilled chicken or shrimp. However, this does go with almost anything. Or, alone.

1. Make the croutons: Preheat the oven to 250F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with pan spray or line with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the oil, salt & pepper, and whatever other seasonings you like. Spread the cubes out in an even layer on the baking sheet and place in the oven.

Croutons ready for the oven.

2. Bake them for one hour, or until they are dried and crispy. Set aside and let cool.

The finished croutons. Easy, right?

3. Meanwhile, make the dressing: Have a blender or food processor running. Drop in the garlic and anchovies and let them chop. Turn off the blender or processor and add all of the other ingredients, except the oil. Blend or process until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Everything except the oil.

4. With the processor or blender running, slowly add the oil. (You don’t want to add it too fast or it won’t incorporate and your dressing will separate.)

Adding the oil. Be sure to do this in a slow, steady stream.

When you’re done processing/blending the dressing, taste it for seasoning. It will be thick.

The finished dressing.

5. Place a couple of big handfuls of the lettuce in a large bowl. Drizzle over about a tablespoon or two of the dressing and toss until the leaves are lightly coated. (You don’t want the leaves soggy, just lightly coated.) Place the lettuce on a plate and add some of the cheese and croutons on top. Some people also like to sprinkle on some additional black pepper as well. Have a bowl of the dressing on the side in case anyone wants more.

Buen Apetito!

The dressing will last 3 – 4 days in the refrigerator if you use eggs and up to 1 week if you use mayonnaise. The croutons will keep a week in an airtight container.

Salade Niçoise has its origins in Nice, Provence, France. No one really knows the complete origin story of this dish. However, there is the ongoing legend that Catherine d’Medici brought a form of it to France before her marriage to Henri II. How much credibility this has, I don’t know; but Nice is less than 20 miles across the Mediterranean from Italy.

The basis for this salad is its seasonality. You use what you have fresh and in season. Few, if any, of the ingredients are to be cooked (although, more modern versions certainly ignore this edict). And, because of Nice’s proximity to the Mediterranean (and Italy), tuna and anchovies were added somewhere along the way.

The always main components of this dish are eggs (usually hard-boiled; sometimes poached), tomatoes, black (preferably niçoise) olives, green beans, and either tuna, anchovies, or both. It is always dressed with a vinaigrette. There are recipes that include artichoke hearts, white beans, radishes, potatoes, beets, corn, bell peppers, asparagus, cucumbers, green olives, mayonnaise, mushrooms, basil, tarragon, rosemary, and scallions. Just to name a few.

So, basically, a French Cobb Salad made with whatever the chef has fresh in their kitchen.

I myself prefer a much more simplified version. I try to stay as close to the traditional as possible. By keeping it simple, I feel, each component can come through. According to David Lebovitz’s post on Salade Niçoise (http://tinyurl.com/4rfsgjf), the original recipe stated that you don’t use anything cooked in the salad except for the eggs. Nor are tuna and anchovies ever in the salad together. Well, I certainly bucked that tradition. I think it’s all right in this case since cooks in Provence skirt the rules on this as well.

A few notes:

1. You can use canned tuna in place of the tuna steak. 2 cans should be sufficient (but you can use more if you like). Be sure to use a good quality brand packed in olive oil. Be sure to read the label and avoid any that have extra flavoring (StarKist comes to mind). Drain off the oil before you add the tuna to the salad.

2. if you can’t find Niçoise olives, you can use Kalamata. Just be sure to chop them a bit before adding to the salad.

3. If you are using pitted olives, be aware that pits can still occur (especially with Kalamatas). Whether you’re using whole or pitted olives, warn your guests about the pits.

4. If you want to make this dish vegetarian/vegan, omit the anchovies, tuna, and eggs. Use chopped garbanzo beans in place of the tuna (or, use a good recipe for “garbanzo tuna”; there are many available) and soft or firm-silken tofu cut into bite-sized pieces in place of the eggs.

5. Some will lay the salad components on the serving dish separately, while others make more of a tossed salad-style. It’s up to you how you like to serve.

The Ingredients

Big Eye Tuna. You can use canned tuna, but fresh is better.

Nicoise Olives. They are a small olive with a slightly smoky, peppery flavor. These are pitted, but if you do have to use whole olives, let your diners know.

1. Make the vinaigrette: In either a medium bowl (if making by hand) or in a food processor or blender, mix together all of the ingredients except for the oil. Either constantly whisking the mixture by hand or with the food processor or blender turned on, pour in the oil in a slow, steady stream. (You don’t want to add the oil too quickly; it won’t incorporate and the vinaigrette will separate.)

Once you have mixed in all the oil, taste for seasoning and adjust if you like. Set the vinaigrette aside.

The finished vinaigrette. I like it a little more on the sharp side. If you want a milder flavor, add more oil.

2. Prepare the fava beans (if using): As you probably noticed in the main ingredient photo, fava bean pods are quite large. To open them, you will need to press the pod lightly on the seam and pry open with your fingers (it’s easier than it sounds). Remove the seeds and place them into a bowl.

Fresh fava bean. The pods are fairly deceptive. They’re thick with an almost cottony inside with any where from 3 – 5 beans. The pods should be bright green (a little speckling is fine), shiny, and no soft spots. The beans inside should be plump and light green (this is from the extra skin on the beans that you’ll remove later). If you find any beans that are brown or shriveled, discard them.

The shelled beans.

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the fava beans and blanch for 3 – 5 minutes. Drain the beans and either run them under cold water or plunge them into ice water. Drain.

The beans after boiling. Notice how the skins are loosened.

Here’s how to remove the skins from the beans in 3 easy photos:

Getting ready to peel the bean.

To peel the bean, simply make a small tear in the skin to expose the bean.

Then, slip the bean out of the skin. Discard the skin. Add the beans to the bowl.

Easy.

If you can’t get fava beans (they’re still fairly seasonal), you can either use blanched French green beans (haricot vert – a very thin green bean) cut into 1/2″ lengths or edamame beans (If you use frozen, just cook them according to the direction on the package and let cool.)

3. Boil the eggs: There are no doubt a thousand ways to boil and peel eggs. Some work, some don’t. For me, the best way I’ve found is to place the eggs in a saucepan filled with water and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes.

Drain off the water and immediately place the eggs into ice water and crack the shells (leave the eggs under the water). This allows the water the get between the shell and egg and make it easier to peel.

After boiling the eggs, immediately plunge them into ice water and crack the shells. The water will get between the shell and egg and it will be easier to peel.

ta da!

Cut the eggs into quarters lengthwise and set aside.

3. Cook the tuna: Lightly coat the tuna in olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper on each side. Heat a skillet over high heat on the stove. When the skillet is hot, lay the tuna steak in the skillet and let it sear until the side is lightly browned. Turn the steak over and sear the other side.

Now, if you like your tuna very rare, you can stop at this point. If you prefer medium-rare to medium, continue to cook the tuna on the stove, turning once more, until it’s done to your preference.

If you prefer your tuna well-done (as my husband does – at least for this), have your oven preheated to 450F. If your skillet is oven-proof, take the skillet off the heat and place it in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the tuna steak.

Searing the tuna.

Remove the skillet from the heat, take the tuna out of the skillet and set it on a plate to cool slightly. When it is cool enough to handle, either cut the tuna into bite-sized pieces (as I prefer), or you can chop it so that it resembles canned tuna.

4. Place all of the vegetables (except the mixed greens), olives, eggs, anchovies, and tuna into a large bowl.

Ready for the tuna and vinaigrette. Pretty, isn’t it?

Pour over the vinaigrette and mix thoroughly.

5. Place a large handful of the greens on a plate. Take a couple of large scoops of the salad and place it on top of the greens. Be sure to get a little of everything. Serve immediately.